


Time Is The Best Gift

by Mountainside_possum



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff, Gift Giving, Holidays, Life Day (Star Wars), M/M, Short & Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28377174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mountainside_possum/pseuds/Mountainside_possum
Summary: Eli's harsh feelings surrounding Life Day are tested when Thrawn goes out of his way to show some holiday spirit. When their relationship begins to take a turn for the romantic, Eli will finally have some feel good memories surrounding this day.A short yet sweet fic for Scribbling_padawan!
Relationships: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	Time Is The Best Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Scribbling_padawan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribbling_padawan/gifts).



Life on board the _Chimaera_ was regular by all considerable standards. The Star Destroyer had been issued over a moon in the Lothal system, where Rebel activity had considerably increased in the past weeks. Each cycle around the moon was the same, with maintenance drills and supply accounts. The crew had settled in for what seemed to be a long, headache inducing stay above the populated system. 

Inside the lively hull, the crew awoke for a seemingly normal day at their stations. Maintenance staff mulled around the halls, checking for any mess, and Intelligence staff traded with their nightshift counterparts on the bridge. Like any other member of the crew, Lieutenant-Commander Eli Vanto was making his way into place. Like a well oiled-machine, everything worked on schedule and without reminder on the _Chimaera_. 

“Sirs.” Vanto addressed his superiors as they passed, his eyes glued onto the data pad which informed him on the events during the night shift. Following the pattern of the past two weeks, the reports showed nothing of interest. An asteroid storm had grown closer to the system, but it was nothing that would affect the _Chimaera_ or her crew. “Grand Admiral.” Cooling his tone into professionalism, Vanto made his way onto the central-deck way between the outcroppings where navigation staff were checking their morning readings. 

“Lieutenant-Commander Vanto.” Something was relaxed in Thrawn’s tone this morning. His long slender arms were folded behind his back. Though he did not openly express it in words, the gentle shift in body language made it clear to Eli that Thrawn was at least relieved to see him. “I assume there is nothing of interest in the morning reports?” Tilting his head vaguely to lock eyes with the smaller human man, his lips twisted lightly into a half smile. 

“And you know that..?” With a tone less than judgemental, Eli pressed the datapad to his chest. He was used to the Chiss having surprises for him. “Did ya’ talk to them yourself?” His wild space accent weaved lightly between his words, making his tone more light than the Coruscanti accent most troopers were equipped with. 

“Simple deduction, Lieutenant-Commander Vanto. If there were a reason for alarm, I’d been alerted.” Unlike when he spoke to the other crew, his voice smoothed with Eli. He allowed the human to stand at his side, almost as if he belonged there. “Tell me, is there human significance to this day?” 

“Hm…” Eli checked the date once again, as he did on his chrono when it roused him from sleep that very morning. “Oh, it’s Life Day.” Eli didn’t take much notice of it, to him it was just another holiday that’d fallen by the wayside once inside Imperial ranks. There were no days off, no holidays, and certainly no celebrations outside of propaganda focused parades. “Nothin’ of importance to us, sir.” 

“No?” Thrawn’s tone was questioning, his eyebrows arching to show interest. One hand moved from it’s carefully slotted place behind his back, motioning into the air as he spoke. “Tell me, what is this ‘Life Day’?” 

“Oh, just a celebration day I suppose? Families get together and make food, give gifts, that sort of thing.” Eli glanced up at the chiss, hoping that he wouldn’t push on the answer. Eli’s family had always been separated for the holidays, with his father at work and his mother emotionally distant. It didn’t exactly bring back memories of joy for him like it did most humans. In fact, it made him feel a great deal of loneliness. Being in Imperial ranks had allowed him to push holidays from his mind, ignoring the fact that his childhood had not been filled with the seasonal warmth others knew. 

“Ah, well I overheard Pik and…” Thrawn thought for a moment, before rolling the name off his tongue with an odd squint. The names of his two personal Death Troopers always seemed to make Thrawn cringe, as if their unprofessional nature was an affront to his calm language. “...Waffle discussing it.” 

“The Death Troopers?” Eli was vaguely surprised at the fact that Pik and Waffle would discuss anything outside of their latest kill. Overhearing them talking about Life Day would be the day Eli told Thrawn the full extent of his feelings. He’d have to drill them on keeping their conversations quiet around the Grand Admiral unless he wanted to be Thrawn’s walking encyclopedia. 

Turning his attention back to the subject of the date, he asked; “Is it important to you, Lieutenant-Commander Vanto?” They had never discussed holidays with each other, yet Eli wondered if Thrawn’s searching gaze already had the answers he sought. The intense feelings of homelessness and lost possibility made any sort of familial discussion a sore spot for Eli. 

“Oh? Um, not really? I’m on the fence, really.” Focusing back on his work, Eli broke the eye contact between them. He felt himself begin to tear up, hoping that not looking at Thrawn would mask the emotion till he had it under control. _Yeah Eli, ‘on the fence’, more like you want to cry everytime you think of what holidays were like back home. Come on, don’t let him see you like this._

“Interesting.” Thrawn’s voice did not indicate that he was comfortable with Eli’s answers, yet no question on the topic followed. “Lieutenant-Commander Vanto, would you go find Pik and Waffle? I wish to speak to them.” He turned away from the human, waiting for the protest he knew would come. Eli was the only person in the galaxy he’d actively allow to back talk his orders. 

“Can’t you just..?” Eli huffed, knowing an argument against Thrawn would only end in him getting his words rearranging in a thousand smarter formats to prove the Chiss right. Besides, if Thrawn wanted to see them in person then he’d be sent no matter what. Forever the messenger boy. “Yes, sir.” Turning away, he walked off the bridge and into the main halls of the destroyer. 

There was something about this day that put Eli in a foul mood, making him wish that they were over his home planet instead of some far off outer-rim hellscape. _This is just homesickness, get over it._ Eli urged himself, there were more important things than wanting to be home for the holidays. 

A few groups of Stormtroopers made the rounds, but aside from them it was clear. That allowed Eli time to clear his mind, if Pik or Waffle saw him teary-eyed then he’d never hear the end of it. The tap of his boots against the harsh, metallic floor made him keep pace. Usually, if he was this lost in thought, he’d accidentally bump into things...or more embarrassingly, people. Thankfully, he found the Death Troopers sparring in the gym room on the fourth floor. They were all on fairly friendly grounds, being similar in rank and age. Placing his arms across his chest, he scowled at the two. “Would you two stop attemptin’ murder for half a second? Grand Admiral Thrawn wants to see you.” 

Pik’s head turned to face Eli, a cocky smile crossing over his lips as he pulled away from his counterpart who he’d almost pinned. “Fine, but I won that.” Pik was the bulker of the two, yet it wasn’t uncommon to see Waffle absolutely out maneuver him with his increased flexibility. 

“In your dreams.” Waffle brushed his blonde locks back, shaking himself off before he looked back at the smaller man in the doorway. “Did Thrawn say what this is about, or is he going to keep it a surprise like always?” A hint of annoyance wormed its way into his tone. He could be snappy when he wanted to, which was most of the time. Eli had learned to work around the thorns in their personalities, and actually considered them to be peers...maybe even friends. 

“No, but he did quiz me on Life Day. Either one of you wanna tell me why, apparently, you had a chat about that?” Vanto let all the frustration he couldn’t take out on Thrawn onto these two Death Troopers. They could take a verbal beating when he gave it. That was the base of their relationships, the fact that thicker skin allowed them to tease and poke at each other. 

Pik chuckled, shaking his head as he moved towards Eli. “Listen kid, we were talking to each other in the shuttle when he visited the Jhas. He must’ve listened in.” Patting the Lieutenant-Commander’s shoulder, he pretended to wince when his hand got slapped away. “Yikes, looks like the Admiral’s pet is all fired up.” 

“I am not..!” The two troopers were a considerable ways down the hall by the time he’d built up the pride to yell at them, the two only responding with chuckles that made his cheeks flare up red. Thrawn could receive them himself, then. If they were going to be so rude he wouldn’t put effort into delivering them. Muttering, Eli spoke; “I am not his pet…” 

————-

Eli had pushed the rest of his work day into the intelligence center, at least here he could get some actual work done instead of being constantly stared at by the chiss’s piercing red eyes. Hours passed easily, Vanto’s brain on autopilot as he sorted previously collected information on the system. It wasn’t a hard job, even a droid could do it, but it reminded him of the days where he’d worked for his father’s supply system. 

Thoughts about his conversation with Pik and Waffle crossed his mind, no matter how much he tried to wrestle them down into their own corner. Were his feelings on Thrawn that obvious? He’d tried to keep his feelings buried deep inside his chest, knowing their relationship would need to remain secret at all costs if they were to be safe. They’d called him a pet, not a lover. Not boyfriend, not...whatever he was to Thrawn. If this was just a way to dig into his mind, then the two were masters. _Am I even something to him, or am I just another useful tool?_

_Bing._

The sound of an alert coming across his data pad, lighting up the screen, snapped Eli out of his dazed emotional state. He opened it, his eyes reflecting the bright blue display. It was a message from the Grand Admiral, simply reading; 

_Eli Vanto, report to my office immediately._

Sinking back into the chair, Eli ran his fingers through his hair. If Thrawn wanted to see him then it was probably something to do with those two idiot Death Troopers. Maybe one of them had opened up to Thrawn about what they thought Eli felt, or they made up some tall tale about Eli confessing to emotions he certainly had but didn’t want to confess to. Infinite possibilities ran through the human’s mind as he wrote a simple reply and sent it; 

_On my way, Sir._

Heaviness sank into Eli’s legs, his anxiety almost begging him not to go. If Thrawn was upset, this would not end well. Would he be demoted? _What a wonderful way to spend Life Day, concerned over a possible demotion._ With a huff, he stood up and exited. Guiding himself by staring at his data pad, Vanto took a longer route to the Grand Admiral's office. It only added two minutes, but Thrawn would certainly know the difference. It gave Eli time to figure out what to say, and how to say it. 

Gifting his code cylinder to the guard in front of the Grand Admiral’s office, he was allowed into the room. It was dark, and that immediately sent chills down the human’s spine. Chiss could see in the dark as well as sunlight, so Thrawn could be anywhere and Eli would be none the wiser. “Grand Admiral, sir?” His voice was shaky, the lack of light making him worry about the nature of this meeting. 

“Come in, Eli.” Thrawn’s smooth voice had softened, and his hand wrapped around the human’s arm. He was guiding him further into the office space, one hand moving over the other’s eyes. Eli froze up, but the tension was relieved when Thrawn replied calmly. “There is something I wish to surprise you with.” 

“Surprise me?” He stiffened that the feeling of being guided, yet the other’s tone felt sincere. This didn’t seem to be anything negative, if it was then Thrawn wouldn’t be going through the trouble to delicately guide him as though he were a new piece of art to be displayed. 

“Yes.” The Chiss responded simply, removing the grasp on the other’s arm. He used that free arm to usher on the lights, leaning down so that his face was near the other’s ear. “Open your eyes now.” 

As soon as Thrawn removed his hand, Eli’s hands moved to his mouth in shock. The usually sparse and artistic space was decorated in multi-colored lights, above a table laid out with a few dishes that Eli immediately recognized as being Lysatran in nature. There was a small box, wrapped in what appeared to be thin cream colored fabric. 

“Is it...how you remember?”, Thrawn’s voice rarely sounded so openly nervous, usually confident beyond imagining and self assured. “I discussed with Pik and Waffle, for authenticity.” The chiss looked away, not wanting to meet the human’s eyes as if he was afraid of the coming reaction. 

“Sir…” Eli sounded like air was stolen from his lungs, his hand gently resting on the other’s arm. “It’s beautiful, thank you. I...I’m speechless.” He wanted to hug the chiss, to show him some form of affection. Yet, he had no clue how to ask for it. How Thrawn had managed to pull this all together in the few hours he’d buried himself in data, Eli had no clue. “You did this for me…” Starstruck, Eli moved forward to examine the display that Thrawn had put together for him. It had been the most clear celebration of Life Day he’d ever experienced, almost as if it was pulled from a story book. 

“Yes, whom else would I have done it for?” Answering what he thought had been a question, Thrawn carefully settled a hand on the human’s shoulder. Eli was completely overwhelmed by the display, and by the tone change in his voice it seemed Thrawn could visualize that to some extent. “You seem emotional, have I made you upset?”

“No!” Eli turned to look up at him, shaking his head before sputtering out. “No, don’t you worry about that. This is one of the...if not _the..._ nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I don’t know how to thank you-” He was cut off by the fact the other’s arms had been wrapped around him in an attempted hug, which was made slightly awkward by the height difference. Eli settled himself in, resting his head against Thrawn's chest and helping adjust the other’s arms so they settled around his torso. 

“I am sorry humans have not treated you with more kindness, Eli Vanto.” Thrawn’s tone fell low, sincere, almost seeming sad. If you looked for it, chiss gave many different emotional cues that most humans missed. The way their shoulders stiffened, or the slight changes in facial features, all things that the untrained eye would simply glance over. 

“Hey.” Eli reached up, softly placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “It’s ok, yeah some people aren’t the greatest but you’ve just given’ me something no one else has.” He motioned to all the work Thrawn had put into many this day special, a small yet loving smile on his face. The fact that Thrawn seemingly had the same feelings for him was something he’d need to talk to the chiss about, but not right now. It was more important to show that all this time, and effort, was not in vain. “You’ve given me back the holidays, and that’s more than I could ever ask of you.” 

Moments passed in the embrace, Thrawn seemingly unwilling to let Eli go. Perhaps he had been waiting for years for this, for some brief instance of compassion or something more from the human. Unlike other chiss, humans seemed to ignore their feelings. Despite his many attempts, Thrawn could never quite open that dialogue with Eli. “I wish I could better express to you certain values of mine, of my people.” 

“Hm?” Eli looked up, tilting his head slightly at the statement. “What do you mean?” He was worried that, somehow, by some means, he had insulted with his reaction. Blush flooded his cheeks when softly, almost like the graze of a feather, Thawn’s fingertips brushed over his cheek. The air left his lungs, almost as if he were passing out. 

“Our families, our _partners._ We value them above all else.” Vaguely, his face changed. His lips tugged at a nervous smile, his arms loosened around the human to prepare for Eli to pull away as he spoke. His petting moved from the human’s face, following the warmth of his blush, into his hair. 

Eli nodded, there was a moment of silence between the two before he carefully spoke. “And you feel that...for me?” How could he have missed it for so long? Thrawn’s feelings were blatant even without a fundamental understanding of Chiss culture, he’d protected Eli from the very beginning at the academy. Thrawn had gone out of his way to keep Eli by his side, even speaking up to the Emperor himself. Those feelings were obviously there, yet they weren't present physically. They were laced with every single action Thrawn had done to keep Eli by his side, even going to request his translation efforts after he’d already learned Basic. 

“Yes.” The simple answer spoke volumes, one of the chiss’s hands working up into the man’s hair to sweetly pet him. “Would you like to see the item?” For a brief moment, Thrawn left the warmth of their embrace in exchange for scanning over the wrapped package. After a moment of silent discussion, he picked up the small wrapped gift. 

Eli had lost himself in watching Thrawn, there was something so fascinating in how the chiss processed information. If he focused, Eli could swear that the facial twitches Thrawn made gave away what stage of thought he was in; if he was happy or not. “Oh, what is it?” The present was set gently into the human’s hands, immediately Eli could feel how soft the wrapping was. It seemed like some sort of silk, yet it was paper based. 

“Open it.” Thrawn’s tone was still soft, yet anxious. His hands lightly danced across the cuffs of his sleeves, a nervous tick that Eli had come to recognize. 

Eli carefully traced down the edges, finding the corner where the silky paper had been folded over. Pulling away the gift wrapping, Eli was faced with a small box. Opening it, there was a necklace. A thin, silver chain attached to what appeared to be a beautiful yellow jewel. Carefully, he pulled it out of the box and examined it. “Thrawn this is...it’s beautiful.” 

“It’s a Kyber Crystal shard, I acquired it on a field mission. You once told me that this color is your favorite.” Thrawn reached out, carefully taking the necklace from Eli’s hands and unclamping the clasp. “Allow me.” He walked around him, leaning over his shoulders and pinned the necklace gently around the human’s neck. “You will need to wear it under your uniform, for security.” 

“I...Wow, yeah of course.” Eli couldn’t stop smiling, his fingers working the shard of the force conducting material in small circles. Something felt so relieving about it, like a physical showing of Thrawn’s love. “Thrawn...this is amazing.” His voice came out in a whisper, tears threatening to edge their way across his eyes. 

“Are you disappointed?” Thrawn gently pressed his hand against Eli’s cheek, lips tightened in worry. It seemed his inability to fully understand human complexities extended to what emotions produced tears. 

“What?” Eli was genuinely surprised, “No! No, Thrawn this is wonderful.” He settled his hand over Thrawn’s on his cheek, smiling up at him. A small, loving chuckle forced itself out of his lungs. “This is...the _best_ Life Day I’ve ever had.” There weren’t words for how much appreciation he had for the chiss’s work, and dedication. It had taken this, a holiday which he’d never had an excuse to celebrate, to actually show him just how much loving attention Thrawn wanted to focus on him. Silence followed, yet it wasn’t loaded. Comfortably they just existed together, sharing the embrace as if it were keeping the galaxy from falling apart. _Thank you for giving me time by your side,_ Eli thought, _That’s all I could ever ask for._

**Author's Note:**

> Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, And May The Force Be With You! 
> 
> A special thanks to nefariosity for editing assistance, thank you so much! 
> 
> Follow Me!  
> Twitter: @imperialsimp  
> Tumblr: mountainsidepossum


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